During PM Modi’s Visit, Mega defence deal with US for manufacture of fighter jet engines in India

Washington: Hours after India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met General Electric Chairman H. Lawrence Culp Jr. in Washington, the aerospace arm of the multinational conglomerate announced that it has An agreement has been signed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture fighter jet engines for the Air Force.

The statement issued by GE Aerospace said that its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a ‘major milestone’ amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US and ‘an important element in strengthening defense cooperation between the two countries’.

According to the statement, the agreement includes the potential joint production of F414 engines by GE Aerospace in India. It added, “GE Aerospace is working with the US government to secure the necessary export rights for this… This effort is part of the Indian Air Force’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk2 program…”

“This historic agreement is made possible by our long association with India and HAL,” said H. Lawrence Culp Jr., President of GE and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GE Aerospace.

He said, “We are proud to play a role in advancing (US) President Joe Biden and (India’s) Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s vision of closer cooperation between the two countries… Our F414 engines are peerless and have been used by both countries.” will provide significant economic and national security benefits to the U.S. as we help our customers produce the highest quality engines to meet the needs of their military fleets…”

Earlier on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office had tweeted pictures of the Prime Minister with the GE chief. The PMO had tweeted, “PM Narendra Modi had productive discussions with H. Lawrence Culp Jr., CEO of General Electric… They discussed GE’s extensive technology collaboration to boost manufacturing in India…”